Be Still & Listen

I’ve been searching for a calm to fill me body, mind and spirit.
I’ve been searching for direction to lead me to a higher good.
I’ve been searching for a meaning to my life.
I’ve been searching for a voice to lead me.
I’ve been searching for peace.

I’ve spent so much time searching that I didn’t realize I had the answers already inside me. I just couldn’t hear them with the circus in my mind. The whispered answers, that I was so desperately seeking, were drowned out by chatter that raced through my mind.

Perhaps that’s what led me to pure frustration. The search was exhausting. I was on a mission to uncover the secret code of my life. This code was going to unlock the vault and all of my answers would come tumbling out. I’d hold the answer to my own mysteries.

It was my husband who asked, “What are you searching for? You have everything you need. Slow down and listen. You’ll get your answers.”

My shoulders slowly dropped and relaxed. I said, “You’re right. I am running in circles, at warp speed. I’m like a cat chasing her tail. Somebody get me some cat nip.”

Because he is the calmer one, I thought I’d heed his advice. He bought me the cross in the photo above to remind me. It wasn’t easy at first.

I tried to meditate, while I wrote my grocery list. Mindfulness was not my forte. After just twenty seconds of quiet reflection, my mind was like a washer in spin cycle. This was more difficult than I imagined. I had so far to go. I was ready to give up when I heard a voice say, “I’m here. Be still.”

I got still and learned:

When I am still, my heart slows. My shoulders release all tension. I smile. I can hear. The circus music stops. My new direction is to do only what’s in front of me.
The meaning of my life is to leave the world a better place because I was here.
I must shush to hear that whisper of a voice. I can hear it soft and clear now.
Stillness is my key that unlocks what I’ve been searching for.
I found me!

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Hi! I’m Anne Bardsley.

…..Over the years, my work has appeared in Erma Bombeck’s humorwriters.org, Scary Mommy, Better After 50, Midlife Bouldvard, The MID, The WIRL Project, The Island Reporter, and others. I am currently working on my next book, Angel Bumps. See the call for submission tab if you’d like to share a story.

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